Coconut Catastrophe

I became inspired to create a hot chocolate infused with the flavors of the Asian Indian culture. The foundation of this hot chocolate is Scharffen Berger Unsweetened 99% Cacao and coconut milk. After researching the mostly frequently used spices and herbs in Asian Indian cuisine, I selected the following ingredients: Palm Sugar, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Chili Peppers and Mandarin Oranges.

The spices were roughly measured, added to the coconut milk along with a few mandarin oranges and a touch of the orange's juice. The liquid was placed back into the refrigerator to infuse the milk with their flavors. After a few hours, I melted the 99% cacao in a glass bowl sitting above pot of boiling water. This is to avoid scorching the milk and/or chocolate. Once the cacao was melted, I poured the milk base through a strainer in to the melted chocolate. I continued stirring and heating. The hot chocolate blend looked beautiful and I personally felt another fantastic recipe was forming.

Palm Sugar was blended into the heated mixture and now it was time to try it. Can you say..."blah!" I do know what the deal is with this recipe, but I surely went south somewhere down the line. Chalk this one up to another hot chocolate mess! As usual, I can always say..."at least the pictures came out nice".